Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Assault on Autism
A shift in scientific thinking about what causes autism is prompting a closer look at potential environmental factors.
- Health & Medicine
Marker signals esophageal cancer
Silencing of the gene that encodes the cancer-suppressing protein APC is common in people with esophageal cancer, suggesting that physicians might use this genetic abnormality as a marker for the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Is penicillin-allergy rate overstated?
A study finds that 20 of 21 people who reported having a penicillin allergy when filling out paperwork during a hospital visit in fact don't have one, suggesting that the prevalence of this allergy is overstated.
- Health & Medicine
Weight Matters, Even in the Womb
Status at birth can foreshadow illnesses decades later.
- Humans
Letters from the November 6, 2004, issue of Science News
Another view I suggest that world maps with countries colored by some statistical feature often would be more useful if done on a cartogram that is a compromise between population and size of countries, rather than on a map with a simple Mercator projection (“A Better Distorted View,” SN: 8/28/04, p. 136: A Better Distorted […]
- Humans
From the November 3, 1934, issue
Telephone transmitters, taking the bitter taste out of certain medicines, and the composition of planets.
- Humans
Bat Moves and More
Take a look at the winners of this year’s Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Science magazine. Particularly noteworthy is a dramatic video that shows a bat tracking and capturing a praying mantis. This video was made by researchers at the University of Maryland, who combined slow-motion video, animation, […]
- Health & Medicine
Persistent Cough: Pertussis rises in young adults and infants
Pertussis, or whooping cough, appears to be rebounding in many age groups, causing long-lasting symptoms in adolescents and adults and threatening the lives of unvaccinated infants.
- Health & Medicine
Nicotine’s Good Side: Substance curbs sepsis in mice
Nicotine halted the progression of severe sepsis in mice, suggesting a new avenue for treating this acute blood infection.
- Health & Medicine
High-fat diets slim down learning
High-fat diets decrease the ability of male rats to learn and remember.
- Health & Medicine
Drug abuse could be an occupational hazard
Breathing minuscule amounts of painkillers administered to patients in surgery may increase an anesthesiologist's risk of abusing prescription drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Acne drug affects brain function
The antiacne drug Accutane may decrease activity in a part of the brain that regulates mood.
